Thompson (band)

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Thompson is a Croatian rock band. It is composed of four members, including Marko Perković (the lead singer and the most popular member, i.e. the face of the band), and Tiho Orlić (supporting vocalist). The name "Thompson" comes from Thompson submachine gun, which was previously Perković's nickname. Perković also uses "Thompson" as his stage name. He is widely considered the most popular and best paid Croatian rock singer at the present time. He is seen as a promoter of Croatian pride and traditions, as he sings about love for ones country, family and religion. Many of the songs have become major hits and are played at soccer games and other large events, most notably Lijepa li si, which became a huge hit. He also started performing annually during the Croatian Homeland and Thanksgiving day, with all benefits going to families of Croatian soldiers. He is also controversial, as he openly promotes Ustasha ideology, wears black uniforms and salutes in corresponding way, and has performed Ustashe songs. He has been banned from preforming in states such as Netherlands that prohibit Holocaust and Nazi symbols. [1]

Thompson rose to tremendous prominence in the aftermath of the Yugoslav wars of the early 1990s, which left Croatia in the midst of a crippling post-communism economy with the general populace furious about the deaths of those close to them, and the destruction of their property. Throughout the decade it became the most popular band in Croatia, and remained such into the early 2000s. Its success may directly be attributed to its performance of patriotic and war-like songs, which directly sympathised with the mentalities of many Croats living in those times. The vocal abilities of the lead singer Marko Perković (along with support), on the other hand, are often described as mediocre, and hence their success is not usually ascribed to any particular ability in this area.

Their controversy is mainly due to their promotion of severe hate, nationalism, and also Nazi fascist sentiments stemming from the Ustaše of World War 2. On this note, of especial mention are the Dalmatian Croats—Thompson's fanbase is especially large in their regions due to the large prominence of such sentiments there. In former Yugoslav popular culture, the Dalmatian Croats are often portrayed as having an excessive degree of national pride (or perhaps more accurately: regional pride), which is often interpreted as arrogance and supremism.

1 Discography
2 Achievements
3 Controversy
- 3.1 Bojna - Čavoglave
- 3.2 Anica - kninska kraljica
4 External links

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

[edit] Compilation albums

2004: Sve najbolje

[edit] Concert videos

2002: Poljud
2004: Turneja: e, moj narode

[edit] Achievements

Thompson has won the following Croatian music festivals:

Melodije Mostara – 2001
Croatian Radio Festival – 2006

[edit] Controversy

The band is seen by some as a promoter of hate speech towards the Serbs. It is also fairly sympathetic with the Ustaša regime, which was in charge of the Independent State of Croatia (which existed from 1941 to 1945 during World War II).

Due to this and pressure from Jews and Serbs, the band was not allowed to have a concert in Amsterdam, Netherlands in 2004. On this, Perkovic said the following: "It's all the fault of the Jews. I have nothing against them, but neither did Jesus Christ, yet still the Jews crucified Him". This statement caused an outcry in the Croatian media.

The main reason why Thompson's nationalism is criticized continues to be their association with the WWII fascist regime. In 2004, a recording (which Matija Babić was first to make public) was leaked to the Croatian media of Thompson performing a modified version of the song Jasenovac i Gradiška Stara in 2001, the lyrics of which included:

Jasenovac i Gradiška Stara, to je kuća Maksovih mesara

U Čapljini klaonica bila, puno Srba Neretva nosila

Sjajna zvijezdo iznad Metkovića, pozdravi nam Antu Pavelića

Which roughly translates to:

Jasenovac and Stara Gradiška, that's the house of Maks' butchers

There was a slaughterhouse in Čapljina, and Neretva (river) carried away many Serbs

Shining star above Metković, send our greetings to Ante Pavelić

Besides "Jasenovac," Thompson sang at the Osijek concert the chauvinistic "Here Comes Dawn, Here Comes Day," in which he glorifies the Ustase and the Poglavnik.

[edit] Bojna - Čavoglave

Thompson became popular with their 1991 hit song Bojna - Čavoglave, which was released during the Croatian War of Independence, a time when Croats were pitted against the Serbs in a struggle to secede Croatia from Yugoslavia. The song depicts a battle featuring a battalion of Croat soldiers from Čavoglave, a village in the Dalmatian hinterland and birthplace of Marko Perković. The song includes the controversial za dom - spremni, a slogan used by, among others, World War II Ustaše (though the term did not originate as a fascist slogan, having been used by Croats for centuries after Nikola Šubić Zrinski used it to salute King Petar Krešimir IV - za dom i Kralja Petra Krešimira IV spremni).

[edit] Anica - kninska kraljica

Their song Anica - kninska kraljica from 1993 includes the lyrics Zbog Anice i bokala vina, zapalit ću Krajinu do Knina / Zapalit ću dva, tri srpska štaba, da ja nisam dolazio džaba, meaning roughly "Because of [a woman named] Anica and a jug of wine, I'll set fire to Krajina all the way up to Knin / I'll set fire to two or three Serb headquarters, for my trip not to be in vain". Further, it says calls on the Croats to remember that Knin was a capital of the medieval Croatian state during the reign of King Dmitar Zvonimir (11th century).